Simpatico | Cervecería Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma, S.A. de C.V. | BeerAdvocate Cervecería Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma, S.A. de C.V. Alcohol by volume (ABV): 4.50% Availability: Year-round No notes at this time. Added by tesguino on 10-20-2005 BEER STATS 2.1/5 rDev 0% look: 1.75 | smell: 1.75 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 2.25 | overall: 2.25 What a weird beer. Comes in a faux ceramic like container charcoal colored. Super weak straw yellow appearance, almost no head, no retention, no lace. Aroma was a little bit sweet, vegetal and metallic. Taste was pretty much watery. Same with the mouthfeel. Sugar water. There just doesn't seem to be much in the way of beer ingredients, and on top of that you want me to spend even more $$ per oz on a bomber format? No. Heck no.

I believe you'd get your ass kicked for sayin' something like that. 508 characters look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 1 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5 Uninspired golden color, very clear, with a stringy white head. Uh oh. Nose is clean and full of corn byproduct. DMS-overcooked veggies. Slightly sweet but metallic in a way. The flavor is skunky and terrible. DMS and carbonated water, with two tons of shitty corn. This is a very very bad beer. 301 characters 2.38/5 rDev +13.3% look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.5 Bomber comes in a weird preventive film kinda like the bedliner on a pickup truck. Also says its brewed in Dubuque, IA. Light straw gold, below average carbonation, was actually pretty clear. Aroma was faint sweet and mechanical.

Taste was almost nonexistant, didn't leave a bad taste in the mouth, was easy to drink, but the water was the most prolific part of the beer, maybe the yeast and its barely appreciable fruity pepples kind of way, but really very little malt, hops or even adjunct. I mean, if you're gonna use corn or rice, maybe go heavy with it? 563 characters 1.82/5 rDev -13.3% look: 1.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2.5 a beer that Cerveceria -cuauhtemoc moctezuma make for the foreign market, USA to be exactly, my uncle make atrip to tijuana and jump to san diego, and buy this beer in a liquor store, i try a little of this beer in a pilsner glass for review it, and in general not impress to me, appearance, mouthfeel and taste, is over the average, drinkability is good, i can´t recommend with food because i dont try the beer with that.

A week ago i read in the net that the simpatico is brewed in iowa or something, i dont know the truth about it, in the bottle clearly read : product of mexico, and the adress of the cerveceria cuauhtemoc in monterrey, n.l. mexico, who knows. 665 characters Antares - Simpatico Antares - Simpatico Click on image to zoom More Views Read More The “Simpatico” name may sound familiar to you, assuming that you are at least about 30 years old and have been enjoying beer since the first days that you could (legally, of course). It is a brand that our company founded and marketed quite successfully in the 80s and 90s, and was most commonly recognized by its distinctive black bottle. If one concern creeps into your recollection – that it was a Mexican lager – the good news is that you can leave that thought packed away in the same shoebox as your Tone Loc cassette.

While we are proud to bring you this worthy tribute beer with the name that is best translated as meaning likeable, or “in harmony,” it is a dramatically more serious and sophisticated brew than its predecessor. Produced by the respected Antares Brewery in Mar del Plata, Argentina – the seaside resort city approximately 4 hours south of Buenos Aires – this is a big and complex beer, to be sure. When I tasted a sample bottle with Michael Jackson in June of this year, we were surrounded by some highly experienced and esteemed Belgian beer professionals. They were, of course, expecting very little in terms of quality from any South American brew being shared by a North American while sitting at an Antwerp beer festival that was featuring the likes of Orval, Malheur, St. Bernardus, and Liefman’s. It was with great relief that I heard Michael, after his first sip, tell them that they needed to take a minute and pay attention to this beer, because it had an “awful lot going on”. Giving it his usual careful attention and respectfully slow analysis, he noted its lovely rich copper color, and generous floral nose. He found the flavors to be syrupy, floral, and fruity, with a finish that just kept going.

He was impressed at how easily it carried its 10% alcohol, and called it a very nice beer – one that he thought should proudly wear the Simpatico name based on the word’s definition. There’s no need at this point to go into great detail about his thoughts on the previous life of Simpatico, but suffice it to say that industrial yellow pilsner derivatives from south of the border in clear bottles ranked at the very top of his pet peeve list – so you can imagine that black frosted glass alone was not really enough to earn his respect some 20 years ago. Let’ s just say that it was nice to be able to redirect the conversation to the topic of how one actually defines a barley wine. And that, like so many subjects of old world brew styles and categories, was one that Michael understood as well as anyone. Following here is an excerpt from a 1998 article that he wrote called Heavy gravity, man , and it captures the historical essence of our exchange. I pray that the old-established beer- style Barley Wine survives. The designation does seem to be vanishing from many brewers’ ranges, perhaps the victim of its own quaintness.

Similar brews, sometimes darker and more chocolaty, often less strong, and frequently on draught, are known as Winter Warmers or Old Ales (Britain has no fewer than 120 of the latter). On other occasions, the term “Strong Ale” is thought to suffice, particularly in the case of paler, drier brews. The terms overlap. Within the broad selection of strongish winter brews, a barley wine is usually at the upper end of the scale, between 6.0 and 12.0 per cent alcohol by volume, or even slightly more. Traditionally, it came in small, nip bottles as though to protect the drinker from excess. In the days before the strengths of beers appeared on labels, barley wine was the stuff of myth and legend. In those innocent times, the jazz musicians of my provincial youth were addicted to nothing more sinister. The ratio of potency to volume removed the risk of needing a loo mid-solo. Tasting Notes The “Simpatico” name may sound familiar to you, assuming that you are at least about 30 years old and have been enjoying beer since the first days that you could (legally, of course).

It is a brand that our company founded and marketed quite successfully in the 80s and 90s, and was most commonly recognized by its distinctive black bottle. If one concern creeps into your recollection – that it was a Mexican lager – the good news is that you can leave that thought packed away in the same shoebox as your Tone Loc cassette. While we are proud to bring you this worthy tribute beer with the name that is best translated as meaning likeable, or “in harmony,” it is a dramatically more serious and sophisticated brew than its predecessor. Produced by the respected Antares Brewery in Mar del Plata, Argentina – the seaside resort city approximately 4 hours south of Buenos Aires – this is a big and complex beer, to be sure. When I tasted a sample bottle with Michael Jackson in June of this year, we were surrounded by some highly experienced and esteemed Belgian beer professionals. They were, of course, expecting very little in terms of quality from any South American brew being shared by a North American while sitting at an Antwerp beer festival that was featuring the likes of Orval, Malheur, St. Bernardus, and Liefman’s.

It was with great relief that I heard Michael, after his first sip, tell them that they needed to take a minute and pay attention to this beer, because it had an “awful lot going on”. Giving it his usual careful attention and respectfully slow analysis, he noted its lovely rich copper color, and generous floral nose. He found the flavors to be syrupy, floral, and fruity, with a finish that just kept going. He was impressed at how easily it carried its 10% alcohol, and called it a very nice beer – one that he thought should proudly wear the Simpatico name based on the word’s definition. There’s no need at this point to go into great detail about his thoughts on the previous life of Simpatico, but suffice it to say that industrial yellow pilsner derivatives from south of the border in clear bottles ranked at the very top of his pet peeve list – so you can imagine that black frosted glass alone was not really enough to earn his respect some 20 years ago. Let’ s just say that it was nice to be able to redirect the conversation to the topic of how one actually defines a barley wine.

And that, like so many subjects of old world brew styles and categories, was one that Michael understood as well as anyone. Following here is an excerpt from a 1998 article that he wrote called Heavy gravity, man , and it captures the historical essence of our exchange. I pray that the old-established beer- style Barley Wine survives. The designation does seem to be vanishing from many brewers’ ranges, perhaps the victim of its own quaintness. Similar brews, sometimes darker and more chocolaty, often less strong, and frequently on draught, are known as Winter Warmers or Old Ales (Britain has no fewer than 120 of the latter). On other occasions, the term “Strong Ale” is thought to suffice, particularly in the case of paler, drier brews. The terms overlap. Within the broad selection of strongish winter brews, a barley wine is usually at the upper end of the scale, between 6.0 and 12.0 per cent alcohol by volume, or even slightly more. Traditionally, it came in small, nip bottles as though to protect the drinker from excess.

In the days before the strengths of beers appeared on labels, barley wine was the stuff of myth and legend. In those innocent times, the jazz musicians of my provincial youth were addicted to nothing more sinister. The ratio of potency to volume removed the risk of needing a loo mid-solo. Gone to Patagonia Read More At about the time that Antares Brewing Company, producers of this month’s feature beer, opened their brewing operations in Mar del Plata in 1998, Michael Jackson had just visited Argentina in search of something truly delicioso from South America. He made his way to Patagonia, and visited two very small craft brewers there. As was Michael’ s style, it is always enlightening to understand the history and qualities of as many brewers in any region as possible, and in that spirit, here is his 1999 article about that trip. Where South America slims to the shape of a leg, the creases behind its knee are the valleys of the Colorado and Negro rivers. The last long stretch of Argentina forms the shin, with the Andes mountains as the bone, and Chile as the calf.

For more than 1,200 miles this far southern region of those two countries is known as Patagonia. The name is believed to be a Spanish rendition of “Big Foot,” from the huge warriors allegedly encountered by the 16th-century explorer Ferdinand Magellan. English seamen said they saw giants with steaming heads and the faces of lions or dogs. Coleridge’s “Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner,” Swift’s giants in “Gulliver’s Travels,” Shakespeare’s monster Caliban, in “The Tempest,” and Poe’s Tsalalians are all said to have been inspired by tales from Patagonia. Darwin travelled there in search of the Origin of the Species; Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid sought sanctuary; so did a cocktail of nationalities, famously including the Welsh; Bruce Chatwin searched for a sloth as big as a bull; Paul Theroux wanted to ride steam trains. I went in search of beer. From the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires, I took a two-hour flight to San Carlos de Bariloche, an Andean town less than 100 miles from the border with Chile.

After World War II, German atomic scientists were brought to work in this remote terrain by President Peron. Later military dictators pursued prestige projects on nuclear power, but these vanities were largely abandoned with the coming of democracy in 1983. This sequence of events was the precursor to micro-brewing. Dodging the Hotel Presidente Peron, and certainly the Hotel Islas Malvinas, I chose the benign-sounding Hotel Edelweiss, handy for the Hosteria Suiza and the Confiteria La Alpina. The town is now an “Alpine” ski resort, though its patrons might be equally at home in Aspen, Colorado... even more reason for micro-breweries. Julio Migoya and Nicolas Silin, the latter of Russian origin, both worked for a company designing nuclear power plants until they saw the writing on the reactor.

Browsing through a do-it-yourself magazine, Nicolas read an item about home-brewing and had “a crazy idea.” He discussed it with Julio at work, and a colleague from the United States told them about the pioneering book on the subject by the British writer the late Dave Line and the American magazine “Zymurgy .” In 1989, they began to home-brew for “saccharific friends and their families,” initially making beer that was “awful - acidic and sulphuric.” In 1991, they left their jobs and obtained a licence to brew in rented premis- es adjoining Julio’s house. They cracked their malt in a cof fee-grinder , brewed in a cooking pot, clarified the beer in a swimming-pool filter, hand-bottled their product, and sold it locally, delivering by sledge in the winter. The bottles were rinsed in a domes- tic dishwasher. By 1993. They had their first “tied house”: they were serving their beer, with sandwiches of the local smoked deer and wild boar, in an informal daytime pub in the living room of Julio’s house during the tourist season.

“Time” was called when his children wanted their evening meal. In 1997, they opened a purpose-built brewpub in premises adjoining a gift shop. The enterprise is called Cerveceria (“brewery”) Blest, after a local beauty spot. The wooden building is owned by Bebe Guttierez Arana, a carpenter and furniture- builder , who also provided the chairs and tables. He is a partner in the gift-shop with Guillermo Estévez, who sells marmalades and jams made from local berries. Guillermo played scrum-half for St. Albans, which turns out to be a school in Buenos Aires. Cerveceria Blest, set back from the road, against a mountain backdrop is six or seven miles west of the town-centre. Its sign bears the rubric, “honest beers and ales.” The interior features a collection of beermats, drinking vessels and bottles. There are paintings and stained glass windows on brewing themes by Nicolas’ daughter Natalia, who is studying art in Buenos Aires. Julio’s wife Alicia manages the restaurant. In the centre of the room is a brew- kettle with a capacity of 2.8 hectolitres.

This smartly-fitted stainless-steel vessel, with a copper trim, was built by the principals, with the help of skilled engineers laid-off by the atomic power company . The beers are served unfiltered. The basic brew, with a lightly hoppy fragrance and bitterness, is flowery and refreshing. It is identified as being a “Pilsen” type. The town name, rather than its adjective, is usually employed in Argentina. A second regular brew is a Bock, at a modest gravity of 1052, with a light but smooth maltiness and good bitter-chocolate flavors. A third tap offers varying styles. At the time of my visit, a Scotch Ale was on offer: sweetish, soft, lightly fruity and nutty. It seems churlish to say that the beers were slightly thin in body, or modest in their hop character. The marvel is that such interesting brews should be made in such a remote part of a country where the bland national beers play second fiddle to wine. The partners had not even tasted a Scotch Ale when they attempted to create their own. The same was true of an earlier Stout; my “Beer Companion” was their guide to style.

The brewery has its own well, housed in a structure like a small chapel. Malt was more of a problem. The partners had to go personally to persuade the chief executive of a maltings to supply them, and are still not especially secure in this arrangement. They built their own rotating roaster (a steel drum, on rollers over gas burners) to convert pale malt to crystal, Munich and black, matching the colors from photographs in a magazine. They are now considering adding a heating element to a cement-mixer . The hops are grown only two hours’ drive away, in El Bolson, the principal area of cultivation in Argentina. I headed in that direction with my traveling companion Brad Page, a brewer from Colorado. Wild rasp- berries at the roadside gave way to thorn bushes and occasionally the reptilian branches of the “Chilean” pine (Araucaria) as the route rose among greenish granite mountains, plunging precipitously to tiny settlements of corrugated-iron houses. As the road approached El Bolson, the mountainsides were lined with hop-poles of cypress and eucalyptus.

Men with Andean- Indian faces and black gaucho hats were out with a tractor, thinning the shoots. The dozen hop gardens in the area grow about 100 hectares in total, all Cascades. The valley has its own pelletizing plant, where Brad was presented with a 20-kilo carton of hops. The label identified El Bolson as a “non-nuclear zone,” clearly a two-fingered gesture towards the atomic past of neighbouring Bariloche. Being much more remote, El Bolson attracted members of the self-sufficiency movement in the 1960s. (The road ends there, close to the border with Chile; there is no route through the mountains.) Juan-Carlos Bahlaj, of Ukrainian origin, had sold windows and doors, and clothing, in Buenos Aires, but is a man who likes to wander. He has traveled by camper-van all over the Americas and Europe, and has developed a taste for Belgian and German brews. Juan- Carlos read the British 1976 classic “Complete Book of Self Sufficiency ,” by John Seymour (published by DK). Of its 256 pages, the four on home-brewing caught his eye.

In 1980, he moved to Patagonia, established a camp-site in El Bolson, and in 1984 started to brew for his guests and friends. In 1986, he took the precaution of obtaining a license. “The more people moved here, the greater the bureaucracy,” he sighs. He has used a solar grill and a pizza oven to prepare his malts, and has over the years increased his brew-length from ten to 70 litres to 2.5 hectos, always in home-built systems. At his conservatory-like Cerveceria Artesanal El Bolson, he serves the beer au naturel, but there are also a filtered, pasteurized versions in the bottle. The golden lager, called Blanca, was a little too fruity for the style, but the rest of his range was delicious.

His black Negra was rich, rounded and coffeeish; his equally dark Rauchbier seemed only lightly smoky at first, then erupted in fragrant dryness; his Framboise was fresh, fruity and beautifully balanced; his Cereza a tingly sour-cherry beer; his iron-like, firm, Cassis the best example I have ever tasted of that style. When he served roasted mountain lamb with sweet potatoes, I wanted to stay forever, but we had to get back to Baroliche to catch a plane. We arrived to be told that the bird had flown. “It was rescheduled,” said the man on the desk. “Why did no one tell us?” we protested. “That’s Patagonia,” he explained. Published in print January, 1999 in Ale Street News Gone to Patagonia At about the time that Antares Brewing Company, producers of this month’s feature beer, opened their brewing operations in Mar del Plata in 1998, Michael Jackson had just visited Argentina in search of something truly delicioso from South America. He made his way to Patagonia, and visited two very small craft brewers there.

As was Michael’ s style, it is always enlightening to understand the history and qualities of as many brewers in any region as possible, and in that spirit, here is his 1999 article about that trip. Where South America slims to the shape of a leg, the creases behind its knee are the valleys of the Colorado and Negro rivers. The last long stretch of Argentina forms the shin, with the Andes mountains as the bone, and Chile as the calf. For more than 1,200 miles this far southern region of those two countries is known as Patagonia. The name is believed to be a Spanish rendition of “Big Foot,” from the huge warriors allegedly encountered by the 16th-century explorer Ferdinand Magellan. English seamen said they saw giants with steaming heads and the faces of lions or dogs. Coleridge’s “Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner,” Swift’s giants in “Gulliver’s Travels,” Shakespeare’s monster Caliban, in “The Tempest,” and Poe’s Tsalalians are all said to have been inspired by tales from Patagonia.

Darwin travelled there in search of the Origin of the Species; Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid sought sanctuary; so did a cocktail of nationalities, famously including the Welsh; Bruce Chatwin searched for a sloth as big as a bull; Paul Theroux wanted to ride steam trains. I went in search of beer. From the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires, I took a two-hour flight to San Carlos de Bariloche, an Andean town less than 100 miles from the border with Chile. After World War II, German atomic scientists were brought to work in this remote terrain by President Peron. Later military dictators pursued prestige projects on nuclear power, but these vanities were largely abandoned with the coming of democracy in 1983. This sequence of events was the precursor to micro-brewing. Dodging the Hotel Presidente Peron, and certainly the Hotel Islas Malvinas, I chose the benign-sounding Hotel Edelweiss, handy for the Hosteria Suiza and the Confiteria La Alpina. The town is now an “Alpine” ski resort, though its patrons might be equally at home in Aspen, Colorado... even more reason for micro-breweries.

Julio Migoya and Nicolas Silin, the latter of Russian origin, both worked for a company designing nuclear power plants until they saw the writing on the reactor. Browsing through a do-it-yourself magazine, Nicolas read an item about home-brewing and had “a crazy idea.” He discussed it with Julio at work, and a colleague from the United States told them about the pioneering book on the subject by the British writer the late Dave Line and the American magazine “Zymurgy .” In 1989, they began to home-brew for “saccharific friends and their families,” initially making beer that was “awful - acidic and sulphuric.” In 1991, they left their jobs and obtained a licence to brew in rented premis- es adjoining Julio’s house. They cracked their malt in a cof fee-grinder , brewed in a cooking pot, clarified the beer in a swimming-pool filter, hand-bottled their product, and sold it locally, delivering by sledge in the winter. The bottles were rinsed in a domes- tic dishwasher. By 1993.

They had their first “tied house”: they were serving their beer, with sandwiches of the local smoked deer and wild boar, in an informal daytime pub in the living room of Julio’s house during the tourist season. “Time” was called when his children wanted their evening meal. In 1997, they opened a purpose-built brewpub in premises adjoining a gift shop. The enterprise is called Cerveceria (“brewery”) Blest, after a local beauty spot. The wooden building is owned by Bebe Guttierez Arana, a carpenter and furniture- builder , who also provided the chairs and tables. He is a partner in the gift-shop with Guillermo Estévez, who sells marmalades and jams made from local berries. Guillermo played scrum-half for St. Albans, which turns out to be a school in Buenos Aires. Cerveceria Blest, set back from the road, against a mountain backdrop is six or seven miles west of the town-centre. Its sign bears the rubric, “honest beers and ales.” The interior features a collection of beermats, drinking vessels and bottles.

There are paintings and stained glass windows on brewing themes by Nicolas’ daughter Natalia, who is studying art in Buenos Aires. Julio’s wife Alicia manages the restaurant. In the centre of the room is a brew- kettle with a capacity of 2.8 hectolitres. This smartly-fitted stainless-steel vessel, with a copper trim, was built by the principals, with the help of skilled engineers laid-off by the atomic power company . The beers are served unfiltered. The basic brew, with a lightly hoppy fragrance and bitterness, is flowery and refreshing. It is identified as being a “Pilsen” type. The town name, rather than its adjective, is usually employed in Argentina. A second regular brew is a Bock, at a modest gravity of 1052, with a light but smooth maltiness and good bitter-chocolate flavors. A third tap offers varying styles. At the time of my visit, a Scotch Ale was on offer: sweetish, soft, lightly fruity and nutty. It seems churlish to say that the beers were slightly thin in body, or modest in their hop character.

The marvel is that such interesting brews should be made in such a remote part of a country where the bland national beers play second fiddle to wine. The partners had not even tasted a Scotch Ale when they attempted to create their own. The same was true of an earlier Stout; my “Beer Companion” was their guide to style. The brewery has its own well, housed in a structure like a small chapel. Malt was more of a problem. The partners had to go personally to persuade the chief executive of a maltings to supply them, and are still not especially secure in this arrangement. They built their own rotating roaster (a steel drum, on rollers over gas burners) to convert pale malt to crystal, Munich and black, matching the colors from photographs in a magazine. They are now considering adding a heating element to a cement-mixer . The hops are grown only two hours’ drive away, in El Bolson, the principal area of cultivation in Argentina. I headed in that direction with my traveling companion Brad Page, a brewer from Colorado.

Wild rasp- berries at the roadside gave way to thorn bushes and occasionally the reptilian branches of the “Chilean” pine (Araucaria) as the route rose among greenish granite mountains, plunging precipitously to tiny settlements of corrugated-iron houses. As the road approached El Bolson, the mountainsides were lined with hop-poles of cypress and eucalyptus. Men with Andean- Indian faces and black gaucho hats were out with a tractor, thinning the shoots. The dozen hop gardens in the area grow about 100 hectares in total, all Cascades. The valley has its own pelletizing plant, where Brad was presented with a 20-kilo carton of hops. The label identified El Bolson as a “non-nuclear zone,” clearly a two-fingered gesture towards the atomic past of neighbouring Bariloche. Being much more remote, El Bolson attracted members of the self-sufficiency movement in the 1960s.

(The road ends there, close to the border with Chile; there is no route through the mountains.) Juan-Carlos Bahlaj, of Ukrainian origin, had sold windows and doors, and clothing, in Buenos Aires, but is a man who likes to wander. He has traveled by camper-van all over the Americas and Europe, and has developed a taste for Belgian and German brews. Juan- Carlos read the British 1976 classic “Complete Book of Self Sufficiency ,” by John Seymour (published by DK). Of its 256 pages, the four on home-brewing caught his eye. In 1980, he moved to Patagonia, established a camp-site in El Bolson, and in 1984 started to brew for his guests and friends. In 1986, he took the precaution of obtaining a license. “The more people moved here, the greater the bureaucracy,” he sighs. He has used a solar grill and a pizza oven to prepare his malts, and has over the years increased his brew-length from ten to 70 litres to 2.5 hectos, always in home-built systems.

At his conservatory-like Cerveceria Artesanal El Bolson, he serves the beer au naturel, but there are also a filtered, pasteurized versions in the bottle. The golden lager, called Blanca, was a little too fruity for the style, but the rest of his range was delicious. His black Negra was rich, rounded and coffeeish; his equally dark Rauchbier seemed only lightly smoky at first, then erupted in fragrant dryness; his Framboise was fresh, fruity and beautifully balanced; his Cereza a tingly sour-cherry beer; his iron-like, firm, Cassis the best example I have ever tasted of that style. When he served roasted mountain lamb with sweet potatoes, I wanted to stay forever, but we had to get back to Baroliche to catch a plane. We arrived to be told that the bird had flown. “It was rescheduled,” said the man on the desk. “Why did no one tell us?” we protested. “That’s Patagonia,” he explained.

Published in print January, 1999 in Ale Street News Premium beers, hand selected by experts throughout the year The Microbrewed Beer of the Month Club Countries that Make the Best Beer - Top Ten List - TheTopTens® Countries that Make the Best Beer The Top Ten 1 Belgium Belgium and Germany are the only 2 countries that can claim to best beer country. They both have a very long and rich tradition of making beer and are the most innovative ones. If you count the top ranked beers of those countries together, they leave the rest of the world FAR behind. Their might be an exception for the pilses. But you can't compare that type with others. The best beer doesn't mean the best selling beer. Heineken is a good example: sells great, but tastes like piss. Actually, there are well over 1000 different beers in Belgium; combine this with about 20 different types of beer and a history of brewing that easily dates back to the middle ages, you've got yourself a beer capital of the world. Excuse me? Germany and Canada are better beer brewers than Belgium?

B*tch please, there is a Belgian Beer Bible on my book shelf: 1568 pages, only containing Belgian beers and their information. And that's only for the officially known beers in Belgium... So many different styles, so many different tastes, so much greatness in such a small country! V 56 Comments 2 Germany Germany was formally united in 1871 under the initiative of Bismarck with King Wilhelm of Prussia as emperor. The previous 'Holy Roman Empire', basically a continuation of the empire of Charlemagne/Karl der Grosse was dissolved in 1806. ... read more . Highest density of breweries in the world, high quality. How can you even think of America as beernation? Most produced beer there is more like water than anything else (except the pacific coast they have some nice microbreweries) and where is the czech republic? Hmm I'm pretty sure that Belgium has higher density of breweries, Belgium has over 1000 individual brands, that's more than Germany even though Belgium is way smaller These people make beer that tastes like beer. Who wants steak that tastes like everything else besides steak?

Don't get me wrong Belgium beer is a close second & the U.S. makes all kinds of beer with 101000of different micro breweries. Denmark and Germany beer is my favourite. There also some good beer brands there! - wizard004 For Germans beer is just another soft-drink V 23 Comments 3 United States The United States of America, or the U.S.A for short, is a federal republic composed of 50 states. 48 of them are contiguous states. There are two other states, Alaska and Hawaii, which are north and south of the contiguous states, respectively. The United States declared its independence from the British ... read more . I have tried beers when I was abroad in other countries in Europe. I've tried German beer, Czech beer, Dutch Beer and Belgian beer and it is all pretty good but it all taste the same. Honestly you can get a similar taste and better in the U.S. and the reason is because we have so much more selection. Brewing has become an artistry here.

Some of the craft beers blow these European ones out of the water with taste, smoothness and flavor and contrary to what anyone thinks about this particular beer, I have yet to taste something as good and refreshing as a Blue Moon in Europe. With a nod to Belgium, the variety of excellent (craft) beer sets the U.S. apart from the rest of the world. You simply can't find more great breweries brewing all kinds of beer any place in the world. Thanks to the craft brewing boom the USA is turning out some of the best beers in the world in a huge variety of styles. The Belgian styles are the only thing I have not seen perfected but when it comes to everything else you will be hard pressed to find something to match the quality of the best brews in the US. The motherhood of the craft revolution! V 20 Comments 4 Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, is a nation state in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west, Austria to the south, Slovakia to the east and Poland to the northeast. I am from Czech Republic, and we truly do have the BEST beer. Most people do think that Germany has the 'best' beer. Hah! What a joke.

It is honestly nothing compared to our Czech's beer. Most people do think that Germany has the best beer only because they never had Czech beer. For example Pilsner Urquel, Gambrinus, Staropramen, Kozel. All these are good. Stop believing that Germany has the best beer until you try the Czech one. It is insult for Czech Republic. Czech Republic (Bohemia) is the best. Hops grown there are the best, the climate is ideal for Growing outstanding hops. Pilsner beer was created there. Taste it and you will see for yourself. Czech pils are the best beers in the world. Smooth and effervescent they can be enjoyed during any season. Add a bit of lemon aide on a warm day and you have a tasty Radler. Belgian beers are a failed attempt at imitating wine that began during the period in which wines were banned from the country. Crisp, clean, simple, elegant pils are the standard of quality. Also commented the same in German vote... I'm English. I love German beer and Czech beer. Those 2 stand above all else.

Sure other countries can lay claim to decent beer, but these 2 countries are the powerhouses of beer brilliance. I think most beer on tap is pish. Don't get me wrong, on a hot day, with friends in an idyllic pub by the river, if all they had was fosters, I'd drink it and have a great day. But if ever there is a choice German and Czech are it. When I met my missus, she only drank champagne. If you tried passing her prosecco she knew. But, she never drank beer. Now she is happy to drink staropramen, budweiser (the budvar one, not USA dogs wee one) and various pilsners. She won't touch fosters or carling even if there was nothing else. Then it's herbal tea or water lol. Belgium would rank higher for me but Stella let's the side down Lets keep it simple, we have the best beer. V 23 Comments 5 Canada Canada is a country in North America that is next to the United States, and it's the 2nd largest country in the world (size is 9 .

985 million km²).This country has 10 provinces, and 3 territories. Canada declared independence from Great Britain on July 1, 1867. Its 10 provinces are: Ontario, British ... read more . Since the beginning of the craft beer boom, Canada and the United States are the easy 1-2 for anyone who actually knows anything. The "Three Sisters" of the Pacific Northwest - Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver are the epicenter of beer innovation in today's world, while some fantastic things are also coming out of places like Quebec and New York, Ontario and Chicago. No question, a beer on the dock during summer does not get any better or more Canadian than this. Excellent craft beers but unlike USA or other countries, the cheap beers here are still really good. Blue, JR, Carling, all good cheap Canadian beers. I don't really drink but, as a proud Canadian, I cannot stand to see the States rise above us in this competition. If you've seen the movie 'Canadian Bacon' you've seen what Canadians will do if you insult their beer. - BKAllmighty Canada and especially Quebec easily outclass Germany and the USA for beer quality.

They're certainly not on Belgium's level but they're legitimate competitors for Denmark and the UK. V 19 Comments 6 Ireland Formed in 1916 after the Easter uprising, Ireland is a small country with a population of roughly 5 million. Frankly the whiskey is better but... Guiness Extra Stout is the best beer, er, ale, actually, in the world! - Dave0the0Suave Have you ever heard of Smittig Beer? I was told that my ancestors developed that beer. 7 Netherlands There is more than Heineken in the Netherlands The Dutch beer is much better than American, Canadian and German beer, its much stronger and tastes better, Belgium beer is pretty good as well Try the Heineken Oud Bruin (old brown) or herfst & winter bok (autumn & winter bock). The cherry beers are also quite nice, although I believe not many of the mentioned beers are being exported. You should really come to Holland and try all the different delicious beer flavors! - naughtygizzi Heineken tastes like piss, Belgian beer is so much better! V 5 Comments 8 England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom.

It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west. England for it's vast selection of Ales. Beers that actually TASTE of something not fizzy piss that is 90% of commercial lager. Its obvious what people have really voted for on this list (just see the list of best beer brands - it's a joke). The only two countries that can hold their own against the beers of England (or Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland for that matter) are Germany and Belgium. Are you having a laugh if English beer is so great how come you hardly ever see it anywhere outside England, and its not that you want to keep it all for yourselves What the? Fizzy, chemical, mass produced lager brewing nations higher on this list than England. Really. Unfortunately most counties in the world do not have the right facilities to cellar store real ale at the correct temperature and to pull it through to create the ideal body for proper ale. No disrespect to other countries on this list, but you simply can't recreate a real pulled pint of real ale from a bottle. You need to experience it in a British pub. As others have said, Britain as a whole must be in the top 3 - along with Belgium and Germany.

The fact that other fine ale-brewing nations aren't high on this list (France, Sweden and Norway for instance) shows that this league table reflects a lack of knowledge about beer more than anything else. More variety and more craft and traditional beers and ales ranging from light lager to porters and stouts with traditional black bitter ale. The only country that can compete with the range is Belgium V 16 Comments 9 Scotland Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and covers the northern third of the island of Great Britain. I am Scottish and live in scotland and the beer you get from fyfe is apparently amazing I personally have never had it but I am under 18 so fat chancw V 1 Comment 10 France France, officially the French Republic, is a sovereign state comprising territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. ... read more . France is not known for its beer, better for its wine. But there, they are also drinking lots of beer and have lots of small breweries, really nice. The problem it's the price of beers in the bars and pubs.

I am about to die when I eat French food it is so good France it's more than 400 official breweries. For instance the famous Kronenbourg producing beer from 1664. The Contenders 11 China China, officially the People's Republic of China, is a sovereign state in East Asia. It is the world's most populous state, with a population of over 1.381 billion. It was established in 1949. Its capital is Beijing. The other major cities are Hong Kong and Shanghai. Chinese (Mandarin) is the only official ... read more . China have very good beer. We copy america, Belgium, Germany and others. We steal secret recipe and make knock off. China knock off better, higher quality than cheap American pee water. Our beer number one in world, super fun time yummy beer! V 2 Comments 12 Mexico Why is Mexico ranked lower than Canada, Italy, Greece and Bulgaria? Mexico should always be ranked in the top 5 for sure. Who has heard of Italian, Greek or Bulgarian beer?

Love this countries verity, look out for Cerveza Indio it is an up and coming star that has been around for a while but is starting to go mainstream with it's amazing taste, especially for a dark beer. Mexican beer is outstanding...many German and Austrian immigrants brought there great beer drinking recipes to Mexico. Mexico is ranked low, because usa are racist and hate mexico, how come canada, peru, czech republic are above V 10 Comments 13 Wales Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Located on the island of Great Britain, it is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, and the Bristol Channel to the south. 14 Denmark Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Europe. The southernmost of the Nordic countries, it is south-west of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. "Fur" is not only the best special beer in Denmark, but also among the best in the world. In Denmark we have two major beer production companies, Tuborg and Carlsberg both of wich are great and world renowned, we should be higher on the list. So I guess people voting here don't enjoy Heineken or Carlsberg.

V 3 Comments 15 Austria Austria was Celtic (Hallstadt) then as Noricum, part of the Roman Empire, Alaric, who took over Rome, studied at a monastery near Vienna. In the Middle Ages, the Holy Roman Emperors moved to Vienna, then Austria became separate. Medieval documents from Eastern Europe as far as West Ukraine were often ... read more . Can't believe that Austria is only twelve on the list, the beer in Austria is second to none especially the wheat beer Austrian beer is sadly always overlooked, I'm guessing because it's such a tiny country. But let me tell you, for its size it has an amazing selection of beer. I've been to many countries and there are quite a few good beers but I always love me some Austrian beer. V 4 Comments 16 Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, also known since ancient times as Hellas is a country located in southeastern Europe. They start producing really good beers in Greece and during the summer they serve it in an enjoyable way.. Frozen glass, it's amazing! Every time I visit the country I can't wait to drink a cold beer in a frozen glass. fix and alfa are my favorites. Mythos Kicks ass.

If you haven't tasted it you don't know what you're missing. Dare to DISCOVER! Take a trip to Greece and discover the beauty of its beaches, lifestyle, beers...Live a little! Nissos is amazing! Produced in a microbrewery at Tinos, one of the most beautiful island of Cyclades is a really good tasty pilsner! V 2 Comments 17 Australia Australia, officially known as the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands . Australia has a very warm climate and is very dry . Australia has best climate for drinking cold beer. - ssmith88 "A hard earned thirst needs a big cold beer and the best cold beer is Vic" VB - the most popular beer in the country that loves beer the most. - see8red Try the tasmanian beers. The water is extremely pure down that way hence the beers are so good. The Moo Brew Pale Ale is sensational. Also, Feral Hop Hog IPA from Western Australia is probably Australia's best IPA. Beer is very good V 3 Comments 18 Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, was established in 681 ad.

and since then it never changed it's name, which makes it one of the oldest countries in Europe. Located in the Balkan Peninsula between Greece, Turkey, Romania, Serbia, Macedonia and Black Sea. The Capital of Bulgaria is Sofia, ... read more . Bulgarian beers are the best! Try Shumensko or Zagorka! Yan from Montreal Try Zagorka,it's like Heineken but with little stronger taste,Kamenitza is like mix of Becks and Karlsberg.Top Bulgarian brands are high quality and tasty,you can find what you want they have beers for every taste. V 4 Comments 19 Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia in the Pacific Ocean which has a huge capital city called Tokyo . Other cities in Japan include Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Osaka, Nagoya and Sendai . It's close to South Korea, which is on the North West of it . It has a large population of 127 . 3 million people (in ... read more . With Japan being one of Germany's Allies, it received a lot of influence and help throughout the 20th century in creating palatable and crisp beers without sacrificing flavor. I put them above Italy on your list.

Even after living in Siena and Florence I still think their beer is overrated. Not trendy to like it but reliable and perfectly composed. - Kotomitsuki Disgusting food and drinks, that's all. 20 Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe, bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine and Belarus to the east; and the Baltic Sea, Kaliningrad Oblast (a Russian exclave) and Lithuania to the north. Poland is the third largest beer producer in Europe who produces more than 1,000 different beers. Variety and choice are so massive that everyone can find their favourite one! In my opinion Poland should be at the top, Polish beers are both tasty and strong. I can't believe Belgium is so high on the list. Stella Artois tastes like a really bad fizzy water and you can't even get drunk of it. If you haven't tried polish beer, then you have no idea what good beer is like.

HAHA Poland has the best beer ever, its strong, its nice and you know what you pay for, it should be the number 1 Simpatico Simpatico Tick this beer for your profile Currently 0/5 Stars. 9/20 Headbanger (3938) - Aurora, Illinois, USA - APR 22, 2014 Bottle (Old Notes-from Dubuque Brewing-Not Amber-Pours a medium golden with a small head. Aroma of grains, corn, and malt. Taste of the same. Not a fan of this brew. 2.6 11/20 Arcanor (263) - Quebec, CANADA - SEP 2, 2013 Source : SAQ in 1992 Rating from my notes at that time. Appearance : Pale yellow with fast desapearing head. Aroma : Mild malt and grain. Taste : Low hop, low grain, very light. Palate : Light body and dry. Overall : Very hot summer beer, no fun to it.

0.6 2/20 ghawener (1575) - San Salvador, EL SALVADOR - MAY 23, 2013 Bottle: The only things going for this beer is the label & name. It must be a joke! Aroma of beer adjuncts, pale as straw, taste is tooooo sweet (sugar cane?). Label is very nice but useless, no style, no ingredientes. Genius. Food Pairing: Malt & Hops. 3.3 15/20 Nekronos (4140) - Xalapa, MEXICO - DEC 27, 2012 More than a premium lager it tastes a little like some German mixture of styles. I liked and found in "sympathetic". 2.6 10/20 Mezcalmannen (395) - Oslo, NORWAY - SEP 30, 2012 When I bought this black bottle with no information of its contents apart from it clearly stating itï¿½s a beer, I assumed it was a stout or porter.

Confused I saw my tulip fill with a clear golden liquid as I poured it. Later I found out it apparently has a bit of a cult following in the US ( as it used to be on the market there in the 80s and 90s. It has recently been reintroduced. About the beer itself the aroma is moderate malty and has a light fruitiness, thereï¿½s some hops to the flavour and finish, low carbonation. Itï¿½s a pleasant beer and steps above your typical Mexican lager. Tick this beer for your profile Currently 0/5 Stars.

Question: In which country is Simpatico beer brewed?
Answer: MEXICO